The list

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Whether Mercury is in retrograde or some such shit, I have tackled the new year with a sense of gusto and immediacy and have crossed off some long-held items on THE LIST. Now being a reasonably organised person, I have a number of lists that I deal with on any given day. I have the diary that has appointments and notes and various to-do’s on it, backed up with the calendar on the wall. There’s the weekly Kikki K thing that I got for work related stuff  and then another daily planner checklist. Too much? Never!

But there is another list, a longer, more permanent and annoying list that sits there, for YEARS in fact, taunting me with things that need to get done, but are not essential, life threatening if they don’t get done. My list has looked a little like this:

  • Hot water system out in Rob’s office to be fixed
  • Garage cleaned out & organised
  • Organise skip bin
  • Girls to dentist for check up
  • Pap smear and general lady service for myself
  • Skin cancer check up
  • Eyes tested
  • Cars x 2 service
  • Hedges to be done
  • Enrol girls into High School

And so on and so forth. Some of these things have been there for over a year, maybe even 2. Yep. And there they sit, moved onto the next list when I get sick of looking at the old list, just sitting there, making me feel bad with all its incompleteness.

But over the past few months? I have been ticking off the list! Nay, CHURNING through the list! In fact on the list above there are just 2 that sit there now. And I cannot begin to tell you just how good it feels! To tackle something that has annoyed you (not only because it hasn’t been done) but for its mere presence on your list, is something worth trying. Yesterday I got my eyes checked and forked out a whole lot of cash for not one but 2 pairs of glasses (because apparently I am now senior and require glasses to drive in as well so I own PRESCRIPTION SUNGLASSES). I’ve had the over due lady service (I know that is naughty), and the piece de resistance….the garage!

The garage has been troubling me for, oh let’s see, ALMOST 4 YEARS. Yep. We moved in and all the boxes that I could not be bothered to deal with were moved in there, stacked against a wall to rot in the cold and dust. We then managed to collate enough cardboard boxes to store an entire supermarket in…tossed in with gar abandon as well as empty pots and broken bits and all of the THINGS that I didn’t want to deal with. Things got so bad in there that Rob even said to me that we needed to sort it out…and THAT is saying something. Yes, it’s true, I was living in  a hoarders filth pit. ME! But no more. Shelves were purchased from Bunnings, I emptied every single box and threw out old cots, prams…you name it I went mad. And now we have space. And order. And even room for a car or two! Garage? DONE.

I am here to tell you that you need to look at your LIST. Not your everyday list and tackle one thing on it. My other list has BAS staring at me like a bastard, but the annoying list? What’s next? The cars booked for a service I think…

What’s top of your annoying list?
Got something from 2, 3 or 5 years still to do?
What can we tackle? LET’S TACKLE SOMETHING. Come on!

Comments

  1. I’ve had a list for ages. It’s gotten to the stage that I don’t look at it!
    My husband, Tony, never says a thing, but, the other day, like Rob he asked if we could start getting rid of “some of the shit”!!!
    He’s booked a pickup for early March so, I better get a wriggle on and get my arse in gear!

  2. I horde paperwork…..it is the one thing I just cant deal with and has gotten me into more trouble than I can tell you. I have boxes of the shit that needs to be sorted through and a filing cabinet that needs a complete clean out. Every now and then I will sort it all out and then I’ll let it build up again. I go off to Officeworks and buy all the stuff to get it organised and then that sits in a pile next to the paperwork because it’s all just too much. Everyone has their thing don’t they 🙂

  3. The lightbulb in the bedroom needs replacing.

  4. The Plumbette says

    I have a similar list! Sometimes it’s purchasing big things for the house like outdoor furniture which we finally bought last Christmas. I also made a 100 dreams list of items I want to own, places I want to visit or experiences I want to have. That list is a bit more of a lifetime list. But I’m hoping I will be able to cross off one or two of those experiences this year. Well done on the garage!

  5. Gail Virgona says

    I swear we were separated at birth. There is a list in my phone: TO DO. A calendar on the fridge. An old fashioned diary in my bag. Had it for 12 years and then there is the work TO DO list that’s divided into 3 columns. Then there is the DO IT ONE DAY WHEN IT RAINS AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO LIST. Which means I never do it. Enrol kids in high school is on it. Not done. Review health/life insurance and get a better deal. Not done. It does my head in. But look at you! Go girl. Love to see some before and after pics of garage. Sounds fabulous.

  6. Alex Wernbacher says

    Haven’t done private health insurance claims since before my 4 year old was born…

  7. Ugh, the BAS is a baddie on your list lol. Pap smear is also on my list for the last 4 months, eep! Thanks for the reminder xx

  8. As the partner of an accountant – I will tell you to never ever ignore your BAS, it will only ever get worse the longer the leave you! It’s like ripping off a band aid or pulling a loose tooth – just do it! 😉

  9. Annie Maurer says

    I hear you Beth!! I am the queen of lists….to do today, to do one day, gardening , on going chores etc, etc! Some things I manage to cross off, others are just transferred to the next list….over and over again….sorting photos, printing and putting them in albums….about 10 years worth of them…still haven’t put the wedding photos in an album….been married nearly 24 years, or made those baby books up….babies are now 21, 19 and 14! And then there’s the bill sorting and like Gail Virgona…looking for a better deal on insurance…car, home and health….oh and not to forget the good old sorting out of junk….can I hire you?? Annie x

  10. The Cupboard Under the Stairs **shudders**

  11. Melanie Scott Burnicle says

    Ugh. The Family Budget. It’s been on the to do list since I got married 13 years ago. The $$ just flow through our hands like water. Occasionally I get a burning desire to be RESPONSIBLE and know just how much I spend on coffees and dance lessons and kid’s birthday presents and actually SAVE some money. But then I think about having to keep all those receipts, and input all those teeny tiny numbers and do other strange things in Excel and my brain explodes a little bit and then starts a new list/pinterest board entitled “cushions to buy” or “things to bake”…….
    I am not a numbers girl.

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      AMEN. I think just thinking about it counts. It does!

    • Alex Wernbacher says

      How about take the pressure off and forget about the micro, scary stuff that requires work and receipts… Just direct $100 a month (or week or fortnight depending on income) to a seperate account. Hey presto, savings!

  12. Photos from 10 years ago when I went digital…that is all I can say, on the top of a list somewhere …
    Ok laundry cupboards too

  13. My major list is on hold at the moment while we are renting, waiting to build our house. We have stuff in storage in the garage, at relatives’ houses, boxes clogging up wardrobes that I didn’t even bother to unpack when we moved to the rental, figuring we could make do without so and so until we were in our new home. Six months later and I go to get something and realise it’s packed away. We moved in such a hurry given it was a thirty day settlement that we literally threw stuff into boxes and didn’t really do much culling. So on my big to do list is CULL CULL CULL and SORT SORT SORT once we are in our shiny new home and never move again!

    • BabyMacBlogBeth says

      Sounds like a good plan. I reckon a good cull every couple of years like you are moving is such a great idea. There is so much STUFF we all just don’t need.

  14. Lisa Mckenzie says

    I have been tackling the list too,cleaning out shit old receipts and dockets and just the general stuff that gets put into drawers and cupboards I also did the linen cupboard properly,the study cupboard and my underwear drawer and my scarf rack feel pretty chuffed I did it too, just a couple more to go,you feel good when you decluter!

  15. Reannon Hope says

    I love a good list or four & am pretty good at ticking things off. Except ” clean the walls”- aint nobody got time for that shit! I’m thinking it might just be easier to have the house re-painted….

    On a side note- ” enrol the girls in high school”? WHAT?

  16. Jo-Anne Lloyd says

    Around 6 years ago(2008) our eldest son dropped a bottle of coke…..splat, all over the kitchen blind. We wiped most of it and declared that we would clean it on the weekend…..hubby was off over Xmas just gone (2013)….the blind got scrubbed and cleaned. Baked on fizz is tough to move after 6 years!!!!

  17. 1. garage. its ALWAYS the garage. husband refuses to acknowledge its a problem. It needs a match. that’ll fix it.

  18. Baby #2’s photo album. And Baby #3’s. oops!

  19. Peta Mitchell says

    My maternity leave list is still undone 4 years later.

  20. the week we moved in right on Christmas my Hubby had the full garage all sorted and packed away. boxes were sorted and any rubbish sent totip. kids albumns done. I say something is broken. all fixed!! drives me a little crazy sometimes.

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